Do drivers speed near your kid’s school? Speed limits will soon drop in some Sacramento spots
June 12 update:
The Sacramento City Council on June 4 approved speed limit changes near schools. The changes will go into effect when the signs are installed, with signs near the schools being installed in July, said Marycon Young, a city spokeswoman.
It is not yet determined when the signs for an additional seven streets will be installed. See below these speed limit changes.
Original story:
Sacramento had the highest rate of traffic-related fatalities involving pedestrians under age 15 in the state in 2016, according to a city report.
To help reduce that, the city is set to drop speed limits around 115 schools to 15 mph.
“The ability to establish 15 mph speed zones can help address community and parent concerns about vehicle speeds around schools, particularly during the busy pickup and drop-off times and to enhance the safety of children walking and biking to school,” the report said. “If a vehicle is in a collision with a child, a slower speed collision will generally result in a less severe injury or the avoidance of death.”
The effort would require the city to install 368 new “school zone” speed limit signs at 124 locations, costing about $63,000, the report said.
In addition, as part of a separate initiative, city officials recently studied 51 speed zones on various city streets to see if the speed limits should be adjusted.
Officials found seven speed zones that should be reduced, according to a city staff report.
They include the following:
East Sacramento
▪ C Street from 35th Street to Elvas Avenue: Set to drop from 35 to 30 mph
South Sacramento
▪ Lemon Hill Avenue from 65th Street Expressway to Power Inn Road: Set to drop from 40 to 35 mph
North Sacramento
▪ Ascot Avenue from Dry Creek Road to 20th Street: Set to drop from 40 to 35 mph
▪ Rio Linda Boulevard from Marysville Boulevard north to the city limits: Set to drop from 50 to 45 mph
▪ South Avenue from Rio Linda Boulevard to Astoria Street, the limit will go down from 30 to 25 mph
College/Glen
▪ Lake Forest Drive from Western End to Everglade Drive: Set to drop from 30 to 25 mph
▪ Wissemann Drive from Everglade Drive to Folsom Boulevard: Set to drop from 30 to 25 mph
This story was originally published June 3, 2019 at 12:07 PM.
